‘Saving the environment’ a priority for children
New research has revealed that pollution and the extinction of animals are our children’s biggest concerns about the future
A study by children’s tuition provider Explore Learning has revealed what the UK’s children are most worried about for future years. In a survey of 1,000 little ones aged between four and 14 years old, 87% of them believed that ‘saving the environment’ should be taught in schools, in an effort to prevent the negative impact of pollution on the earth. When asked why, 38% said it was because they were worried about the future of our environment.
Our loveable pandas were the animals our children were most concerned about, followed by polar bears and elephants. And when it came to animals that were already extinct, almost a third of children said they had never heard of a woolly mammoth, the dodo or a sabre-tooth tiger.
However, the research showed our children have a good understanding of global environmental issues and the impact that human activity on the eco system. Of those asked, 76% of children believed that it is human activity that causes extinction, while 71% believed that coral reefs would also soon die off.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, as the kids revealed they are also excited about the possibility of time travel (26%), driverless cars (10%) and living on another planet (37%), and an optimistic 62% believe they will enjoy living until they’re well over 100 years old!
“It’s heartening to know that so many children care about the impact pollution is having on the world around us,” says environmentalist, author and TV presenter Steve Backshall. “We are incredibly lucky to have an amazing array of animals in the world and a beautiful planet to inhabit, so it is of paramount importance for our future generations to look after them.
“I would certainly agree that saving the environment should be a top priority in schools,” he adds.
Explore Learning’s research was commissioned to highlight the theme of this year’s National Young Writers’ Awards – ‘The Future’. Children aged four to 14 years are invited to write a story of 500 words or less set in 3017, in an effort to win a trip to Disneyland Paris and £500 worth of books for their school. The deadline for this is Friday 5 May 2017.
